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The simple act of walking on the streets reminds us that we are not truly free. Here's a take on the freedom to walk.
The simple act of walking on the streets reminds us that we are not truly free. Here’s a take on the freedom to walk.
The #FreedomIs campaign asked readers to share their idea of what freedom is, and what freedoms they wanted, through a selfie with a message. The results were varied and beautiful. You can see the collection of #FreedomIs selfies here. Don’t forget to send in your own!
I am a big believer in freedom – all kinds of freedom. It can be to eat, drink, dress, to choose your lifestyle, partner, religion etc, The list is endless. If it makes you happy, you do it! It is freedom for you. Live and let live. I was shaken from this so called freedom of mine when I discovered that like so many other things in our country, this freedom too, is misleading.
I was walking on the posh walking plaza near my house last week. I do it occasionally; I am not a regular walker and that is my freedom – to walk whenever I want to, at whatever time I want to, and whereever I want to.
I am on the verge of 40 and nowhere close to the “Yummy Mummy” that the media wants us mummies to become. While I am out for my walk, I am the opposite – overweight, unruly hair, sweaty, and maybe just about pretty average to look at. As I tried to get into the rhythm of my walk, hoping to shed my lethargy and a couple of kilos with my brisk walkimg, I realised a few truths
You go the hospital, an orderly or clerk will accost you in a corner. You go to the mall, the watchman will act funny. The lift man tries to be too friendly. The place could be an office, school, market, tailor-shop, swimming pool (god forbid it is a public pool), ration shop, movie hall, a bus or train, or the endless places where a lady might need to go.
Where is the freedom if I cannot walk freely in my own neighbourhood? Where is the freedom if I fear abuse and rape at every step I take? Where is the freedom if I cannot dress as I please? Where is the freedom if men cannot respect our choices?
For me, #FreedomIs walking free.
Pic credit: HowardIgnatius (Used under a CC license)
Inderpreet writes for her love of writing, edits manuscripts and reads endlessly. An authors' editor with a decade of experience, she provides manuscript critique, linguistic editing, substantive editing and developmental editing for fiction and nonfiction. read more...
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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